The United States, which is the number one destination of migrants in the Western hemisphere, has been experiencing a surge in the number of irregular migrants—those who enter the country without passing through legal ports of entry. To help alleviate the problems associated with such an enormous influx of people, the United States is taking a number of steps to prevent circumvention of legal entry into the country, while at the same time expanding options of legal pathways. “We have also significantly streamlined and increased our ability to use expedited removal,” said Blas Nuñez-Neto, Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This results in “quick consequences on individuals who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States.”
“It is important to note that as we strengthen those consequences, we have demonstrated our commitment to providing lawful options for people to come. That includes our CBP [Customs and Border Patrol] One mobile application at the border, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to schedule safe, orderly appointments to present at a port of entry,” he said. “It includes some of our humanitarian parole programs, including for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela that have shown to be effective in terms of channeling some of those flows into a legal and lawful, safe, orderly means.”
“The U.S. Government’s engaged in a comprehensive long-term effort to address the challenges of irregular migration and displacement in the Western Hemisphere,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central America, Cuba, and Migration at the State Department, Eric Jacobstein. “Late last year, President Biden announced nearly 485 million dollars in additional humanitarian aid that responds to the needs of refugees, migrants, and other vulnerable populations.”
“The idea is to foster responsibility sharing that addresses regional migration challenges, provides stability aid to affected communities, expands lawful pathways, and promotes humane migration policies, essentially addressing the root cause of these issues before individuals migrate in the first place,” he said.
In addition, “Our Safe Mobility Offices throughout the region facilitate expedited refugee processing via the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and provide information referrals to humanitarian parole, family reunification, and to labor programs,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Jacobstein.
“Our message is clear: Take advantage of lawful pathways rather than make a dangerous journey north, where we will continue to robustly enforce our border.”
